Vico Bianco

This is a gorgeous hotel in a great location, and the building and rooms are beautiful. The two ladies at breakfast were very kind, and the pool was very nice. But our three-night stay in the junior suite was deeply frustrating, especially because management handled what I see as a serious safety issue so poorly. Our room was already above 25°C when we arrived at 6pm. We set both thermostats to 17°C and went out. Six hours later, the temperature had risen, and the two A/C units were only blowing air. After an uncomfortable night, I explained the problem to the two ladies at the breakfast station using Google Translate. They said a technician had been there the day before and that they would ask them to come back. I also contacted the hotel helpline. Its automated message said it only worked office hours Monday - Friday and directed us to WhatsApp. Four hours later, management replied that they had never had this issue before, even though the ladies had said a technician had already come. When I pointed that out, management said the technician had come because I complained, despite us only arriving the previous evening. To me, that suggested earlier guests had reported the same problem. We lowered the setting to 15°C, but the thermostats still showed 25.1 and 25.6 while it was 35/36°C outside. The next afternoon at the pool, we saw the two ladies go into our room and leave shortly after. We then realised these lovely cleaners and breakfast staff were also trying to fix the A/C. They had taken off the metal covers and set them aside. That helped the air circulate a little, but the units still didn't work properly. I attached a photo of the uncovered unit. I'm no A/C technician, but motherboards hanging off a wall, wires everywhere, and a wine cooler don't seem like standard parts. This reinforced my concern that the problem was ongoing and management had lied to me. Our flight was late, so we paid for late check-out. The terms said it depended on management and availability, so I messaged to check it was confirmed. Four hours later they said yes, but the check-out time never changed on the booking. The next morning we went out for breakfast and returned at 10:03 to find my mobile key card frosted out, so I couldn't get in. Fortunately, the two ladies were working and let us in. Without them, management's lack of response could have made this very stressful, as well as a major safety and security issue. I've stayed in many self-service hotels around the world and never had such poor communication. Smaller places with 3/4 rooms may not have anyone there during the day, but there is always someone reachable by phone at any hour. Places with 8+ rooms usually have someone on site at all times. If anything goes wrong here, whether it's an A/C unit or an emergency, injury, or fire, you're on your own for hours. That's unacceptable.